How long does a graphics card last?

fruitcakehater

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Hello so I am buying a radeon 7870 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202025 ) and I am wondering what is the average life span of a graphics card without overclocking. I play about 2 - 8 hours each day. Thanks
 
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If you want to know how long it will run, it can run for a very long time. Right now I have a very old PC with a 6 year old Graphics card and it still runs fine. But because of it's age it can't run almost any game of today.

That being said the better graphics card you have the longer you will actually be able to use it. Getting a high end graphics card will last you about 4-5 years as long as you use it right (OC Correctly etc.) Yours I would give maybe that long if your okay with playing on the lowest graphic settings. If you want it to last longer it's not all about the build, it's about the quality of your GPU.

Keep in mind though that some games (Such as BF4) work your CPU just as hard as your GPU and that might come with future...

JohnPMyers

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Yeah, they will last several years. I still have an HD 5870 in one of my computers and it stays on 24/7 and overclocked 24/7. No issues at all. Once every 6 months or so, it's good to vacuum the dust out of it so it stays running as cool as possible, but that's about it.

Some friends of mine are still using some even older ATI 4000 series and Nvidia 8000 series GPUs. The worst that's ever happened is the fan died. $5-$10 for a replacement and it's like new again.
 

Mr. Koaliti

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If you want to know how long it will run, it can run for a very long time. Right now I have a very old PC with a 6 year old Graphics card and it still runs fine. But because of it's age it can't run almost any game of today.

That being said the better graphics card you have the longer you will actually be able to use it. Getting a high end graphics card will last you about 4-5 years as long as you use it right (OC Correctly etc.) Yours I would give maybe that long if your okay with playing on the lowest graphic settings. If you want it to last longer it's not all about the build, it's about the quality of your GPU.

Keep in mind though that some games (Such as BF4) work your CPU just as hard as your GPU and that might come with future games. So your GPU is not the only thing you will need to upgrade.
 
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fruitcakehater

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Thanks. After about 2 or so years I will upgrade. My CPU is not very futureproof its a A10 5800K so I will upgrade that when I upgrade my graphics.
 

Mr. Koaliti

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Okay, sounds good. just remember when you upgrade you CPU you will need to change your MB because of socket compatibilities. I recommend AMD's FX series but they may have something better in the future.
 

fruitcakehater

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thanks for the advice